Polygamous families protest bigamy law in Utah: 'If we were gay, we'd be OK' [View all]

Source: Associated Press


By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press · Sunday, February 12, 2017

A group of pro-polygamy protesters rally at the state Capitol Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, in Salt Lake City. Several hundred people in polygamist relationships say they want Utah lawmakers and law enforcement officials to know that they're not going away and should be allowed the freedom to practice their plural marriages. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The family on the TV reality show “Sister Wives” and several hundred other protesters in polygamous relationships and their supporters said Friday they won’t stop fighting for the legal right to plural marriage.

Holding signs that read, “I love all my moms,” and “If we were gay, we’d be OK,” the group rallied in the rain on the steps of the Utah Capitol on Friday afternoon.

“I am not a criminal,” proclaimed Joe Darger, a Utah man who has three wives and helped organize the rally. “If you commit adultery, that’s not a felony. It’s only a crime when you have a family and you pretend to be married.” The demonstration comes a month after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case from Kody Brown and his four wives on the TLC show “Sister Wives” challenging Utah’s bigamy law.

The high court left Utah’s law in place, but state legislators are considering changes this year that would leave those convicted under it facing harsher penalties if they’re also convicted of other crimes such as domestic abuse.

Read more: http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/02/polygamous-families-protest-bigamy-law-utah-gay-wed-ok/